I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Yann's eyes widened at the mention of the college, while Robert's amiable smile froze on his lips.

"Half the college fees, you say?" Robert said, his voice like grinding stones. "Do you have any idea about what you're asking for?"

Adam's smile made him bite his lip. Clearly, he wouldn't answer.

"Listen, sir. You need more than Prestige to enrol." He massaged his brows, then raised three fingers. "A noble background that can be traced back for the past twenty generations. This condition alone turned most youth ineligible, and your family name... I've never heard of it."

He lowered a finger. "Then, you must be recommended by your family head or an archmage who graduated over a century ago. Let me tell you something: there are hundreds of archmages on the archipelago, but none—not even the outlaws—are nobodies."

He lowered another finger, his gaze meaningful. Yet, Adam shrugged as he went with the third condition.

"Finally, there are the fees..." Robert's well-maintained expression cracked along with his voice. "Ten million Prestige a year, but you want me to cover half the cost of four years of classes?" He slammed his palm on the half-burned table. "That's twenty million! You're mad—like everyone in Brineheart—if you think I'll fork out that much!"

Adam raised a brow.

So Brineheart was the capital's name. The enrollment conditions also made him frown. How unpleasant. But he would manage. He always did.

The name of the Laurentius Lux Aeterna was unknown because the family had been operating in the isolated southern reaches of the archipelago before its fall. However, the city guard didn't fail to remind him about its ancient lineage. The first condition shouldn't cause trouble.

The second, however, made him narrow his eyes at Robert.

"There is no way the renowned Crystal Quill Consortium didn't hire several graduated archmages. That second condition isn't one."

"Maybe in Brineheart. In Port Vaelora? Humph." Robert crossed his arms around his chest and pursed his lips. "Our tier four enchanters are already hot topics. And before you ask, there's nothing I can do. I'm merely a branch guild master of a faraway southern city. Standing, Prestige, importance, they dwarf me on every metric. They don't even produce that much for the guild and prefer to auction their crafts."

Adam tapped on his curving lips. "As I said, this condition isn't one." He smirked at Robert's confused glare, then shrugged. "Am I not better than any of them? Just show the most trustworthy one of my creations. And when he asks about who made it..."

His smirk turned predatory in Robert's eyes. The branch guild master shuddered, his eyes widening in realisation. "A recommendation for a meeting? But that will expose your identi—"

"Because you think I'll go without disguising?" Adam rolled his eyes, cutting Robert off by pointing a finger in front of his eyes. "Exaggerate my strength and standing. Make him anticipate the meeting as much as he dreads it. I'll make him sign the recommendation myself."

"Wait, wait, wait," Robert massaged his temples, waving his other hand nervously. "Even if you plan works, I'm not paying half the fees."

"Tsk. I already understood that." Adam clicked his tongue. "Forget about them. Help me retrieve a plot of land instead." He reached for his coat, taking out the land deed he got from Pablo's secret stash in the Order of the Venomous Path's temple. "Check if the document is still usable."

"How old is that deed?" Robert scrutinised the yellowed parchment that seemed on the verge of crumbling. With careful movements, he took it from Adam with both hands. The almost faded ink was hard to decipher, but for each word he read, his breath hastened.

"Six thousand years old? What?!" He swallowed the wrong way and burst into coughing. After a moment, clutching his chest, he stuttered. "T-that's a large plot of land in the noble district! T-The magical seal is still intact—it's priceless!"

He showed the barely visible magic seal stamped on the back of the parchment. "A quick restoration and the land will be yours. But seriously, where did you find such an antiquity?"

"You don't want to know, trust me."

Adam offered him a mysterious smile, but Yann knew the answer: the rogue mages. Now he realised that Adam's travels were as much to gather knowledge as to build a footing in the capital. And it made an icy jolt course through his tied-up limbs. Right now, he didn't see Adam as a clueless lad anymore, but as a strategist towering over a chessboard in which each piece was carefully carved from his past actions and present cunningness.

As Robert lamented about his unanswered question, Adam clenched his fist in victory.

"I think we can proceed with the contract. A magus-level item per month for four years, seventy-thirty shares, you pay for the travel expenses, lodging for a month, convince an archmage to meet me, and restore, then make me get my lands. Death if you spread my name or try to cheat, or fail to accomplish any of our causes." He summarised, slightly disgruntled by the college fees. After all, he would have to pay them twice.

Robert remained silent for a moment before sighing. He rose from the beige sofa, walked toward a shelf, then retrieved a piece of parchment covered in symbols. They drew a shimmering, dark and purple line as he placed it on the table.

"You realise a death contract goes both ways? You'll die if you can't deliver your monthly product, so it's not too late to change it to something less... definitive." He tried to reason.

But Adam merely snapped his fingers. Mana threads erupted from his body, each strand landing on the paper, drawing the agreed-upon clauses in bold letters.

Before Robert could react, he signed the contract and gestured for the man to do the same, which earned him a confused frown.

"Do you want me to make it official first?" Robert asked, prickling his finger with the tip of a dagger set with blue magical stones. The warm liquid covered his index finger before he signed his name on the parchment.

Instantly, the contract brightened, signalling that one party had completed the ceremony.

Realisation struck Adam like morning light. Everything seemed to revolve around bloodlines in the archipelago, so of course, the contract required his blood, too.

Without wasting a second, he cut through his reinforced skin with a thin thread, then signed again.

The contract brightened further, turning blindingly dark, as if an abyss had opened between him and Robert. Two tentacle-like threads spread from its depths, slithering like dark snakes towards their chests.

He shuddered at the disgusting sensation as one passed through his muscles, feeling it wrap around his heart, fangs ready to sink in if he broke the clauses. Once done, the contract dissolved into dark particles like the ambers of dying stars, leaving behind two shuddering men and the icy promise of death.

A heavy silence loomed in the room for a minute. Adam clutched his chest, feeling his drumming heart as sweat trickled down his forehead.

Then, he grinned. These magical contracts were fascinating. Perhaps finding a way to break them was the first step to dismantle the obligations forcing him to hide the demonic cleaver. That would be for later, though—after he enrolled. After all, it was his only goal during this negotiation, even if the other clauses were welcome bonuses.

Rising from the sofa, he clapped to awaken Robert from his stupor. "Pack up. We leave for the capital."

Simultaneously, the mana ropes binding Yann vanished in a sparkling rain of mana.

Finally free, Yann gazed at Adam with a complex expression. For the first time since his banishment, he didn't know what to do.

As Robert finally moved to gather the necessary documents, he said in a barely audible voice. "That was dangerous. But I'm grateful you negotiated for two."

"Yes, two." Adam waved his hand dismissively. "How many are we, and do you think your incompetence deserves anything from me?"

Yann's eyes widened. Qing! He had forgotten about her since she mysteriously vanished at the bar. Now he realised that Adam must've hidden her.

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AN: Long chapter for yesterday.